SPORTSCASTER JACK BUCK KICKS OFF SCOUTS' FUND RAISER

~Correction: Headline should read: "SPORTSCASTER JOE BUCK KICKS OFF SCOUTS' FUND RAISER"

"Down the left field line. Is it enough? Gone! There it is! Sixty-two! Touch first, Mark. You are the new single-season home-run king."

Those words by sportscaster Joe Buck described Mark McGwire's 62nd home run and have been played and replayed on Fox Sports Network. The St. Louis Cardinals slugger had just established a new season-high home-run record in September 1998.

With that call, Buck was able to describe the historic moment in detail and drama.

McGwire hit a first-pitch fastball that barely cleared the left field wall. In his excitement, McGwire stumbled around first base, and Buck recorded the moment, reminding McGwire to touch first and that he was the new single-season home-run king, breaking the 37-year-old record 61 of Roger Maris.

The call also gave Buck the most exciting single event in his broadcasting career, shoving the 1996 World Series back to second.

Buck talked about McGwire's 62nd home run, the St. Louis Cardinals chances for 2000 and his father, Jack Buck, during an appearance to help kick off the Friends of Scouting fund-raising campaign Wednesday morning at Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau.

The annual fund raiser, which provides 31 percent of the annual budget for the local Shawnee Council of Boy Scouts of America, is off to a good start. The kickoff breakfast, attended by about 80 people, including representatives of all Cape Girardeau area banks, resulted in more than $9,000 being generated toward the $55,000 campaign.

"The exact amount was $9,060," said Norval Randol, who helped coordinate the annual breakfast. Randol explained the Scout group received about 20 percent of its funding from the United Way and about 25 percent from funds generated by Scouting programs.

"This is always a special time here," Randol said of the kickoff event. "Scouting gets young people off on the right foot by instilling moral character and responsible behavior traits that will carry throughout their life."

Two youngsters -- second-grader Cub Scouts Nick LeGrande and Timothy Edwards -- were on hand to tell about their experiences in Cub Scouting. R. Brian Huffman, director of finance for the Greater St. Louis Area Council of the Boys Scouts of America, talked about Scouting programs, including the food collection project.

The St. Louis Council, which includes 27 Southeast Missouri and 10 Southern Illinois councils, is the fourth-largest council in the nation, said Huffman. Last year more than 17,000 volunteers in the St. Louis Council collected more than 1.9 million items of food for distribution to the needy. The Shawnee Council collected 26,000 items.

Door prizes at the breakfast included two baseballs signed by Buck.

Buck is a familiar sportscasting name. Joe Buck is the son of broadcasting legend Jack Buck, who has been broadcasting since 1954 and will continue to call Cardinals home games this year.

"I'll be working with may dad a lot," said the younger Buck, who credits his dad for his success. "My dad and I are great friends. He took me with him a lot. I've been around ball parks and broadcasting since I was a kid. I had been in every major league park by the time I was 12 years old."

Buck said he knew early that he wanted to be a sports announcer like his dad.

"As a kid I used to sit at the ball park and announce into a tape recorder," he said. "Later my dad and I would listen to the tape, and he would point out my weak points and strong points."

Joe Buck has been a radio and television announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals since 1991. His broadcasting career started in 1989 while he was an undergraduate at Indiana University. He did play-by-play for the Louisville Redbirds of the American Association, a minor league affiliate of the Cardinals.

In 1996 he was selected to do play-by-play for the World Series. He also has called World Series play in 1998, the 1997 and 1999 all-star games, and NFL games.

Buck said, "The Cardinals have improved their pitching staff, and with home-run sluggers Sammy Sosa at Chicago and Ken Griffey Jr. at Cincinnati, this could be a fun season in the National League's Central Division."